Risking Corruption
If your partner is genuinely jealous, they aren’t wrong, but you’re not going to stray. You just find her fascinating.
This is a collaborative choose your own adventure story. Click here for the chapter guide. Go back to chapter 1 by Linden Schneider here. Return to the previous chapter here.
Despite everything, Sandra is so alluring. She may be dangerous as a lynx, as your partner asserted. Yet, when she approached you at the hotel buffet, asking if you could speak in private, how could you say no?
When you nod, a beam lights up her pretty face, and your heart gives a small jolt. If your partner is genuinely jealous, they aren’t wrong, but you’re not going to stray. You just find her fascinating.
Sandra signals with her hand for you to follow her out of the buffet. Distantly, you wonder whether she or the other Vacation Roulette organizers could possibly be killers, as the mysterious messenger had told you. But what if they were lying?
You wander through the busy hotel lobby, and end up at the elevators. You gulp as Sandra stares into your eyes. She smiles widely. “Do you mind talking in my room? It’s the only place where I can guarantee total privacy.”
Alarm bells sound in your head, but you’re so ensorcelled and don’t want to back out. Sure, she might want to murder you in the privacy of her suite, but what if…what if…
Before you know it, you and Sandra ride the elevator up to the seventh floor, where her room is. Room 703, to be precise. It strikes you that this number doesn’t contain unlucky numbers, and seven is actually lucky. But these are all superstitions.
Silently, you march down the plush hallway towards her room. Sandra isn’t making bubbly small talk like she usually does, which hints at the gravity of the situation. She still has a cheerful smile on her face, however.
When Sandra lets you in, you gasp. Not because there’s blood, a dead body, or anything like that, but because there’s a gorgeous view of the ocean, from her gigantic windows.
Without thinking, you rush to the windows and gawk at the magnificent landscape. It’s still in the afternoon, so you see the sunlight dance like crystals on the turquoise sea.
Behind you, Sandra clears her throat. Your heart skips a beat in your nervousness, but she doesn’t look mad. She chuckles. “I know the scene looks fantastic, but I want your attention as well.” She winks as she says this, and you wonder if that’s supposed to be a playful flirt. She continues, “Sit here with me.” She settles down on her queen-sized bed, and pats the spot next to her.
With caution, you take your place on the bed. It makes you anxious to sit so close to her, but you’re also relieved that you don’t have to make eye contact, since you’re sitting side by side, not face to face.
In an effort to soothe your nerves, you glance out the windows from time to time. Sandra doesn’t seem to mind. She rearranges her chestnut blonde hair, then says in a soft voice:
“I have a favor to ask of you.” She peers at you with a benign face. She looks so sweet and innocent, that you’re blindsided when she says, “You must have gotten a text message from my cousin, claiming that Vacation Roulette is a trap, and that we’ll kill you.”
Her statement stupefies you. Your jaw drops so wide, and Sandra is still gazing beautifully at you, looking so friendly and charming. If she pulled a knife on you now, you would have only yourself to blame. But instead, she says, “There’s no need to be afraid. I know such a text message would scare anyone. I wouldn’t trust me either, if I were in your place. But I like to be direct and honest, so I decided to talk to you right off the bat.”
She clears her throat again and goes on, “My cousin is frankly a jealous bitch trying to steal our customers. She’s running a vacation too, but she doesn’t have the resources that we do to offer such competitive prices. Her resort has been waning for a long time, but she just won’t admit defeat. So she messages people who have taken our quiz, and warns them that they’ll die.” Sandra shakes her head.
You recover enough from your stupor to ask, “So you already know…But what’s the favor you ask of us?”
The beautiful blonde casts you a lopsided smile. “Can’t you guess? I want you to tell your partner that it was just a hoax. If you encounter anyone else on Vacation Roulette who has the same doubts, please tell them too.”
You relax and can breathe more easily, because her request implies that she won’t kill you today, or perhaps anytime soon. “Why don’t you tell the vacationers yourself, though? Why rely on me?”
“Because customers trust other customers,” came her candid response. “Plus, I feel like I can trust you.”
You blink at the latter comment, not sure what to make of her declaration. Moreover, you are unpleasantly reminded of how close you’re sitting together. But before you can say anything more, somebody knocks on the door.
Sandra and you both freeze. It’s oddly reassuring, though, that even she is caught off guard.
